La Femme Nikita: On Borrowed Time

Michael: "We'll be together soon. I'll make it happen."

What an absolutely infuriating cliffhanger.

What the hell did Madeline do to Nikita? It wasn't clear at all. She didn't erase Nikita's memory, because what would be the point? Wouldn't Nikita just fall in love with Michael again? In fact, Nikita appeared to remember everything; in that final scene, she told Michael, "Don't. Doesn't work. I don't love you any more." So somehow, they managed to alter Nikita's emotions so that she just didn't care any more. It was like they removed her soul.

This week's Most Obvious Symbolism was the white paint. In the final scene, Nikita was painting her walls white, covering up her relationship with Michael and starting over. The paint was even all over her hands, the hands she pulled away from Michael. Gold acting stars for both Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis for this particular scene. The confusion on her face and the heartbreak on his were subtle, but so clearly there.

Operations and Madeline made a serious mistake in whom they chose to screw with. If they had "adjusted" Michael instead of Nikita, she might have been powerless to change him. Michael is the power in that relationship, not Nikita. He won't accept it, period.

As punishment for being a go-between for Michael and Nikita, Walter was forced into Retirement. Medical experiments, pain tolerance, harvested body parts? Not exactly a condo in Miami Beach. It was just weird that Retirement turned out to be not what Walter was expecting. ("It was heaven. It was better than that.") Let's face it, nothing in Section is ever a pleasant surprise. So what was really going on? Was Walter altered, too?

Birkoff showed some pretty serious ruthlessness, and all on Walter's behalf. He deep-sixed the unfortunate, eager-to-please Giles (who, incidentally, looked a lot like Birkoff) without a moment of hesitation. Did the poor kid get cancelled?

Bits and pieces:

-- The opener ("You've got a strange effect on me") is my favorite romantic scene so far in the entire series. The way they communicated with their eyes was just incredibly sexy. At one point, Nikita looked like she was about to nibble on Michael's neck. I want to nibble on his neck, too, so I can understand the impulse.

-- Walter was in Section for thirty-five years. Poor guy.

-- I got a big charge out the Genefex plant manager making a pass at Michael. What a delightful little scene.

-- Finally. To hell with panels. Michael passed Nikita a note.

-- I often talk about what Nikita was wearing, particularly in Section and particularly in terms of color, because it is symbolic of her not belonging in Section. She began this episode wearing white. At the end of the episode, in Section, she was wearing black.

-- That white lab coat may have been the ugliest thing Michael has worn so far in the series. Interesting (symbolically, anyway) that Michael spent most of the episode wearing white. I did like the glasses.

-- In this week's hair report, did Roy Dupuis get a haircut? Why didn't they just let him grow it out this season? He looks fabulous with long hair.

Quotes:

Walter: "You can't beat Section. But you can choose your own way out."

Madeline: "Whenever your last meeting with Michael was, I hope you made the most of it."
The love boat... soon will be making another run...

Madeline: "Nikita was more focused on the mission, while Michael was repressing tension. In the past, it's been the reverse. You didn't notice?"
Operations: "No, I didn't. Perhaps I'm slipping."

Michael's final line was spoken over the closing credits: "I won't let them do this."

Too much Genefex stuff, but this was still an impressive episode. Irritating, but impressive. Three out of four stars,

Billie